Impact of peak/mid luteal estradiol on pregnancy outcome after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Abstract Objective: To compare peak to mid estradiol ratio with the probability of successful conception after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Method: The quasi-experimental study was conducted in an infertility clinic at Islamabad from June 2010 till August 2011, and comprised couples subjected to intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection. Down-regulation of ovaries was followed by calculated stimulation, ovulation induction, oocytes retrieval, intra cytoplasmic sperm injection, in vitro maturation of embryos and finally blastocysts transfer. Serum estradiol was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on ovulation induction day and the day of embryo transfer. Failure of procedure was detected by beta human chorionic gonadotropin5-25mIU/ml (Group I; non-pregnant).Females with beta human chorionic gonadotropin\u3e25mIU/ml and no cardiac activity after 4 weeks of transfer were placed in Group II (pre-clinical abortion), and confirmation of foetal heart in the latter comprised Group III (clinical pregnancy). Data was analysed using SPSS 15. Results: Of the 323 couples initially enrolled, embryo transfer was carried out in 282(87.3%) females. Clinical pregnancy was achieved in 101(36%) of the cases, while 61(21.63%) had pre-clinical abortion, and 120(42%) remained non-pregnant. The peak/mid-luteal estradiolratio was low (2.3) in patients who had high oocyte maturity (p=0.001) and fertilisation rate (p=0.003) compared to non-pregnant patients with high peak/mid-luteal estradiolratio (2.56). Conclusion: High peak estradiol with maintenance of optimal levels in mid-luteal phase is required for implantation of fertilised ovum and accomplishment of clinical pregnancy

Crowd detection and counting using a static and dynamic platform: state of the art

Automated object detection and crowd density estimation are popular and important area in visual surveillance research. The last decades witnessed many significant research in this field however, it is still a challenging problem for automatic visual surveillance. The ever increase in research of the field of crowd dynamics and crowd motion necessitates a detailed and updated survey of different techniques and trends in this field. This paper presents a survey on crowd detection and crowd density estimation from moving platform and surveys the different methods employed for this purpose. This review category and delineates several detections and counting estimation methods that have been applied for the examination of scenes from static and moving platforms

Breastfeeding perception among Medical students of Islamic International Medical College (IIMC) in relation to COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Breastfeeding is crucial for the development & growth of the infant in the early years of life. Unfortunately, the incidence of breastfeeding is very low in our part of the world. Doctors play a critical role in the public awareness of the benefits & importance of breastfeeding. This study is done to find out the perception, knowledge and attitude of medical students about breastfeeding and its implications during COVID 19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Islamic International Medical College (IIMC) from 10 november 2021 to 30 november 2021. An online questionnaire was sent to the students of MBBS from first to final year via email. Results were analyzed on SPSS version 21. Results A total of 316 students participated. The majority of students were aware of the initiation, duration and advantages of breastfeeding. 88% of students answered that breast milk is an ideal food for a baby. 77.2% had the perception that breastfeeding increases mother-infant bonding. 71.51% of students answered that breastfed babies have fewer health-related issues compared to formula-fed babies. 40 % of students were of the idea that there is a risk of transmission of COVID 19 from mother to baby if breastfed fed while 42% believed that breastfeeding protects against COVID 19. Conclusion The majority of the students of IIMC were aware of benefits of breastfeeding but most of them lacked knowledge of breastfeeding by mothers suffering from COVID 19. The medical curriculum should have more emphasis on nutrition counselling for both mothers and children and information regarding breastfeeding particularly during situations like COVID 19 pandemic.   Keywords:  Breastfeeding, COVID 19, Medical Students

Breastfeeding perception among Medical students of Islamic International Medical College (IIMC) in relation to COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Breastfeeding is crucial for the development & growth of the infant in the early years of life. Unfortunately, the incidence of breastfeeding is very low in our part of the world. Doctors play a critical role in the public awareness of the benefits & importance of breastfeeding. This study is done to find out the perception, knowledge and attitude of medical students about breastfeeding and its implications during COVID 19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Islamic International Medical College (IIMC) from 10 november 2021 to 30 november 2021. An online questionnaire was sent to the students of MBBS from first to final year via email. Results were analyzed on SPSS version 21. Results A total of 316 students participated. The majority of students were aware of the initiation, duration and advantages of breastfeeding. 88% of students answered that breast milk is an ideal food for a baby. 77.2% had the perception that breastfeeding increases mother-infant bonding. 71.51% of students answered that breastfed babies have fewer health-related issues compared to formula-fed babies. 40 % of students were of the idea that there is a risk of transmission of COVID 19 from mother to baby if breastfed fed while 42% believed that breastfeeding protects against COVID 19. Conclusion The majority of the students of IIMC were aware of benefits of breastfeeding but most of them lacked knowledge of breastfeeding by mothers suffering from COVID 19. The medical curriculum should have more emphasis on nutrition counselling for both mothers and children and information regarding breastfeeding particularly during situations like COVID 19 pandemic.   Keywords:  Breastfeeding, COVID 19, Medical Students

Role of Microfinance Institutions in Women Empowerment: A Case Study of Akhuwat, Pakistan

Gender discrimination is a persistent problem faced by women all over the world, which has ledto the need to empower women for uplifting their status as recognized by Millennium Development Goals (2010). The present study focuses on the role of microfinance in empowering women and also acknowledges its’ significance in alleviating poverty. The researcher used qualitative approach and case study method for in depth analysis of the phenomenon in context of Akhuwat, an interest free microfinance organization. It was recognized that microfinance brings about changes in women’s lives: household condition, family wellbeing and social status. It is improved by availing the services of microfinance institution and interest free loans further add to their well-being. Present study focused on four background variables to examine their influence on decision making ability of women in aspects of their domestic and social life. Age, education, marital status and family type are important contributing factors that influence women’s empowerment. It was also observed that women are more inclined to be altruistic and spend most of their income on their families. The present study can be further extended by incorporating more factors and increasing sample size in order to get more significant results

Incidence Of Hypoparathyroidism After Total Thyroidectomy for Benign Goitres. A Systematic Review

Objective:  systematic review assessed the overall incidence of hypoparathyroidism after Total thyroidectomy (TT) for benign goitres. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, google scholar, Cochrane, and Pakmedinet under PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines was performed. All studies during the last 50 years where TT was performed for benign goitres and post-operative hypoparathyroidism was assessed were included.  The total incidence of both transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism was calculated after TT for benign goitres. The risk of bias was also assessed. Results: Twelve studies were included in total including eight retrospective, three prospective observational studies, and one randomized trial. Three studies were from Turkey, 2 from Pakistan, 2 from Greece, and one each from Saudi Arabia, India, Denmark, Egypt, and the USA. 2809 TT were performed for benign goitres. Overall Transient hypoparathyroidism (THP) was noted in 290 (10%) patients while permanent hypoparathyroidism (PHP) was noted in 33(1.17%) patients. The highest incidence of permanent hypoparathyroidism was 17% in one study while the lowest was 0% in three studies. The highest incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism was 28.5% in one study while the lowest incidence was 2.5%. The risk of bias was high. Conclusion: TT for benign goitres is associated with 1.17 % overall risk (range 0%-17%) of PHP and 10% (range 2.5%-28.5%) of THP

Anti-hyperglycemic activity of Heliotropium strigosum (Boraginaecae) whole plant extract in alloxan-induced diabetic mice

Purpose: To investigate Heliotropium strigosum whole plant extract for its potential to reduce the blood glucose level of alloxan-induced diabetic mice.Methods: Preliminary phytochemical analysis was carried out using standard  procedures. Diabetes was induced in Balb/c mice by injecting alloxan (200 mg/kg i.p.). The crude methanol extract of Heliotropium strigosum (Hs.Cr, 30, 100 and 300 mg/kg doses) was administered daily to alloxan-induced diabetic mice for 15 days and its effect on fasting blood glucose levels, body weight and oral glucose tolerancewas evaluated. Two control groups (non-diabetic control and diabetic control)  received normal saline (0.2 ml). Metformin (500 mg/kg) was used as reference standard.Results: Heliotropium strigosum showed positive for the presence of alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids. The extract (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) caused significant reduction in the fasting blood glucose level of alloxan-induced diabetic mice on days 5, 10 and 15 compared to diabetic control (p < 0.001). In this regard, the  anti-hyperglycemic effect compared to the reference (metformin). The extract also timedependently decreased the body weight of the treated animals as well as improved tolerance of the oral glucose overload.Conclusion: These results indicate that Heliotropium strigosum possesses  anti-hyperglycemic effect, reduces body weight and enhances the tolerance of  glucose overload in mice. Further studies are therefore required to determine its  feasiilty as an alternate herbal medicine in the management of diabetes in humans.Keywords: Heliotropium strigosum, Anti-hyperglycemic, Alloxan-induced diabetic mice, Blood glucose, Oral glucose tolerance, Body weigh

A Taxonomy of Text Mining

With a rapid increase in the volume of textual data on the Internet, extracting useful information through innovative text mining techniques has become crucial. In this context, terminology jargon in the literature related to text-mining creates ambiguity and has made it very difficult for researchers to focus in a specific direction and bring innovation. For example, review mining and opinion mining may have different applications, however, from a technical perspective, they are very similar. In this paper, we propose a classification of the text mining terminologies from the perspectives of technical and text-mining processes. The classification is based on a comprehensive literature survey and analysis. This research study presents a clear classification of text mining terminologies based on technical and text mining processes to resolve the issue of terminology jargon. By utilizing the proposed classification, researchers will be able to easily choose a specific direction instead of diverging amongst similar research problems, thereby, driving innovation. Further, the proposed classification will help advance and improve the overall research progress in all text-mining related fields